The project, implemented by a local NGO, SAACID (Somali for 'To Help'), has employed 600 local people (300 men and 300 women) and hired private sector hauliers to remove sand and garbage from the streets of Mogadishu.

The scheme, launched earlier this month, is being carried out in six of the city's 16 districts for a period of three months.

"The project is seen very much as a test case to determine whether it is possible to operate effectively in war-ravaged Mogadishu," said Joe Connolly, the project's chief technical adviser.MORE